But the supermarket giant now says the centre cannot be run profitably and bosses are consulting with the 102 workers at the site on plans to close the warehouse, off Trafford Park Road, at the end of March.

Company bosses say they will be creating additional jobs in Greater Manchester to handle the return of online picking in stores.

Those employed at Trafford Park who have been placed under consultation today will be ‘informed of all available opportunities in stores’.

Staff members working at the site said they were pulled into a meeting this morning and told the warehouse will be shutting.

One employee told the M.E.N: “We have been open for a year and a half, since the project started. The site only does online delivery sales.

“Out of nowhere we just got called in and told they are going to let go of all of the team and shut down the site.

A spokesperson for the supermarket giant said: “The Trafford Park facility opened in July 2017 to undertake the picking of online orders previously handled by 17 Iceland stores in the Greater Manchester area.

“Although Trafford Park has achieved excellent standards of customer service, it has proved impossible to operate the pick centre model profitably, and the company therefore now proposes to return the picking and delivery of online orders to stores.

“If this move goes ahead, customers in the Greater Manchester area should expect to see no change in the high levels of service they receive from Iceland, which has won multiple awards and accolades as the UK’s best online shopping service.

“Iceland’s online business remains in strong growth and the proposed restructuring will create opportunities for new roles and extended hours of work in a number of Iceland stores. “Employees at Trafford Park who have been placed under consultation today will naturally be informed of all available opportunities in stores.”